jueves, 20 de octubre de 2011

Student Testimonials, Equine Gnathological Training Institute, Inc.

October 19, 2011
From: King Hill, Idaho 83633, USA
Link: http://www.equinedentistry.net/
New Beginnings
By Simon Gunson
Where do i begin? Dale and Bert are two of the nicest and most knowledgeable people that you could ever wish to meet.
My mum started off my riding and has stuck by me ever since. I got my first pony when i was 8 years old and I'm 19 now. Mum, so far, has always found me nice ponies and horses, a good set of riding instructors and has always been there to help. The support from her has helped me get to be a fairly high standard of rider with flatwork and showjumping.
Having a very good dentist, Paul Waudby, and a good idea of how a horse should go on the flat, i was able to feel the phenomenal difference between what Paul had done in comparison to the dentist we had previous to him.
I was fascinated by what Paul was doing and wanted to learn more. He kindly let me travel with him on his rounds, whilst he was in the area and it fuelled my thirst to find out more. Paul suggested coming out to the school that Dale and Bert set up and so i gave Dale a call. Dale asked about why i wanted to go into dentistry, what experience i had with handling horses, how long i had been around them and signed me up for the course.
Just over a month later, i was jetting off to America, not really knowing what to expect! When i arrived in Boise, Dale picked me up and dropped me off at one of the exquisite houses that are used to house the students. The next day, Dale and Bert showed the class round the museum and factory at World Wide Equine Inc. the first week was devoted to learning the theory of equine dentistry. Looking at the history of dentistry, the anatomy of a horse's head, aging a horse, the principles of balance and equilibration, performance and instrumentation. The class text was "Oral Health in Equidae" By Dale Jeffrey. It's an amazing book that covers more or less everything and anything that maybe wasn't in there or we didn't understand fully, Dale and Bert were there to explain to us in a way that we could understand. Each night i would read over what the class had been learning and if i was stuck on something, i would bring it up in class the next day.
Week 2 was purely practical and hands on. Horses were arranged for each day and with only 3 of us, there were more than enough for us to be getting on with. With the small amount of the people that were on the course, it meant that we got 1 on 1 tutoring. The further through the week and the easier we were finding it, the more they left us to do as much as we could before they came gave us advice or help. Before i left to go home, Bert very kindly said that i could travel round with him after the next course in October. When i got back in England, the first thing i did was book flights for October. i kept myself ticking over, making sure everything stayed fresh in my mind and started building a client base.
I couldn't wait to come back out again, the few days before i was due to fly out, i could barely sleep! The course took the same path as it did last time and i built on the knowledge that i got from the last course. Through both weeks i learned more on top of what i learned the first time round. Everything seemed a lot easier.
I am currently going round with Bert and learning from one of the best!
Dental Issues
By Carla Adams
My name is Carla Adams. I'll start with a little of my background.
I practically grew up on the back of a horse. I won my first blue ribbon in the show ring at the age of 3, trained my first horse from start to finish with just a little help from my dad at the age of nine. I've ridden everything from English pleasure horses to racing Quarter Horses, so you would think I would know something about horses' teeth.
This class has taught me that other than wolf teeth need to come out and if a horse is losing feed he may need his teeth worked on, I knew very little about them and the problems they could cause. I walk away from class today with a new respect and knowledge of equine gnathological processes.
Floating a horses teeth will never again be defined as making teeth level, but to make the horses teeth come together in matching parallel biomechanical planes of occlusion. This allows proper mastication and utilization of food for weight gain and energy.
I now know what a bit seat is which I had never heard of before and how something as simple as giving the bit a proper place to rest can be greatly beneficial to horses and riders. Rolling in a bit seat is not as simple as it looks.
Issues you may encounter while training may not be an issue with your methods or the horses unwillingness to work but a problem with teeth, bone structure or the temporomandibular joint.
Lastly, upon graduation from this class I leave with a far greater knowledge of gnathology than I arrived with, and yet it is only the tip of the ice berg.
What I Have Learned
By Karl Willson Brough
Hi, my name is Karl Brough, I was born in Pocatello, Idaho. I am 25 years old, learning how to become an Equine Gnathological Practitioner. The practice of gnathology helps provide prophylaxis and equilibration to horses' teeth achieving matching parallel biomechanical planes of occlusion for cheek teeth and incisors. Efficient mastication and occlusion patterns enhance the processes of deglutition and nutrition. I believe in relieving horses' pain by correcting dental complications. After prophylaxis you should see optimistic changes in temperament, performance, diet, and overall health, all things that give you a rewarding feeling knowing you have helped these beautiful animals.
If you do not have the right knowledge and technique working on horses teeth can be very challenging. Not only have I been learning gnathological practices, I have been learning horse handling procedures from Dale and Bert. I am grateful they have the compassion to teach me how to help horses and find the best solutions to help them with their teeth. They encourage me to keep moving forward with my work and technique.